10 things I enjoy about current WWE

I don’t get to weigh in at this space on what I am enjoying and not enjoying about wrestling, so sometimes I get asked what I am enjoying and not enjoying about wrestling. Mostly due to work commitments, I don’t get to watch much else other than WWE these days and even that is on a severe time lag.

1. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk in headlining positions. I don’t like Bryan and Punk in these positions because they are internet darlings or because they are Ring of Honor guys. I like this because they have worked really hard and their matches and segments are pretty much always entertaining. The knock on Bryan was that he wasn’t interesting or unique, but he’s added so many layers to his apparent vanilla presentation that he’s become a completely unforgettable figure in WWE history. Punk, on the other hand, has always been full of it — personality that is. He is close to becoming an iconic WWE star and his rivalry with Paul Heyman has been really fun and has probably been pretty fun for both Punk and Heyman too. While John Cena and Sheamus have been sidelined by injury, Bryan and Punk have ably carried the banner for WWE babyfaces.

2. Randy Orton legitimately living up to his potential. Orton, for some time, has been one of best hands to draw to in WWE. Stuck in a secondary babyface role for seemingly years, WWE finally pulled the trigger on the return of the sadistic jerk Orton as its main antagonist and it’s completely refreshed his career. I feel like I am watching a different person. He’s confident and comfortable in what he is doing. More importantly, he is creating personal issue with multiple wrestlers and having great matches with everyone.

3. The three-man broadcast team of Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and John “Bradshaw” Layfield. Three man teams are a little clunky at times, but WWE struck gold with this trio. Cole and Layfield have among the best natural chemistry of any two broadcasters ever and clearly like working with each other. Lawler is right back to the Lawler of old. There’s always something he says every week that gets me rolling. More importantly, three-hour Raws sometimes can be a chore to get all the way through and with these three steering the car, it stays on the right course.

4. Renee Young. In my opinion, the best female broadcaster WWE has ever hired. She’s got a good look and a ton of skill. She can host, she can interview, she’s training on play by play at NXT. I’ve enjoyed the former Score host’s contributions since she arrived in WWE. So fun and knowledgable.

5. NXT. If you aren’t already watching NXT every week on Hulu, you should be. It’s only an hour long and yeah, it’s a developmental show, so there’s the occasional clunker, but for the most part, it’s very entertaining. Lots of promise with wrestlers like Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas, and countless others. Well worth your time. The people who put this show together do an awesome job. Also if you don’t at least crack a smile during the entrance of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, you pretty much hate life.

6. Paul Heyman and Zeb Colter. ECW, Puerto Rico, TNA, SmackDown. These two have booked just about everything in wrestling, but for me, it’s just a pure joy to get to hear them talk every week. There’s always something new and interesting. You can try to train newbies all you want to be great talkers, but guys like Paul E. and Dirty Dutch can teach the master class. Not everyone can pull off what they do.

7. The Shield. Some have criticized The Shield for being one-dimensional, some on this very blog have done it. Watching Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at this stage of their careers has been really fun for me as a fan just because it’s been so unique. Everyone thought they were just Punk lackeys when they debuted, but they’ve been much more than that. WWE needs to be careful to not do the same exact thing with them too often. Each man is a completely unique talent to the other two, which I think really shows off their strengths.

8. The Usos. These guys are absolutely the real deal. You want tag team wrestling. These guys are good athletes with fun personalities who have some of the best tandem moves in the business. They are also still super young, so I expect big things.

9. The Rhodes Family. I like where this angle is going. Even though he is in his late 60s, Dusty Rhodes can still cut a better professional wrestling promo than most. Goldust, every time he comes back, fits back into WWE like a glove. And Cody Rhodes? He’s a superstar ready to bust out in a big way.

10. Watching the shows and watching the talent grow. You know, I can be as big a nitpicker as anyone else. When I am watching a matchup for the 10th or 11th time, I have a hard time getting on board with it. But I watch, you watch, and we watch every week. For every Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage I’ve seen, I’ve also watched Ted Arcidi vs. Jose Luis Rivera. The business and its growth fascinates me. The individual progress of the players fascinates me. Yeah, it’s not all always going to be great, but I enjoy being along for the ride.